Judge ruled mistrial to man accused of having relations with underage female

A judge declared a mistrial due to a hung jury late Friday afternoon in the case of a 39-year-old man accused of having sex with an underage female patron of the Macomb Township karate school he co-owned.

The 12-person panel deliberated the fate of Joby Clark for two days before Judge Matthew Switalski ordered the mistrial.

Prosecutors plan to pursue the case against him again as the judge set a Nov. 29 pretrial date in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens.

Attorneys could not be immediately reached for comment.

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Clark is charged with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, accused of participating in fellatio with the girl when she was 14 and 15 inside the Butoku Karate Dojo at 21 Mile and Garfield roads. The alleged incidents occurred twice in September and October 2009 in a bathroom and a closet and once in June 2010.

The nearly two-week trial featured Clark and his wife testifying in his defense, claiming his accuser is lying.

His attorney, Patrick McQueeney, said the girl made up the tale after she got caught sending inappropriate text messages to Clark.

"It's based on the fantasy of a 15-year-old girl," he said in closing arguments.

Assistant Macomb prosecutor Rebecca Oster must prove Clark took advantage of his position of authority as the office manager and half-owner. She said he responded to the girl's flirtations.

"He was able to manipulate (the girl) to entertain himself," she told jurors. "It was his job as the co-owner of the Dojo to say, 'no, no, no, no.' "

The jury asked the judge to define "coerce" during deliberations.

The girl, now 17, testified against Clark. She was in an adult class with Clark and didn't tell anyone about the alleged encounters until after a friend of the girl discovered a message and reported it to an adult.

Clark's business partner, John Wasilina, demanded Clark remove himself as partner in early 2011 and went to police.